History of the Taconic Parkway Diners
At the start of the 1950s, the Taconic Parkway reached only as far as Route 199. Travelers wanting to proceed further north needed to detour onto US Route 9, bringing them through Red Hook. An entreprenuer named Bert Coons changed the landscape of the Taconic Parkway. Bert Coons, who previously ran gasoline stations in the area, bought the Halfway Diner in Rhinebeck and moved it to North Broadway in Red Hook. Since traffic exiting the Parkway and continuing further north on Route 9 went directly past the diner, business was good. By 1954, the next section of the Taconic Parkway was complete, and the Parkway now ended at Route 82 in Ancram. Bert Coons was again ready to serve hungry travelers with another diner located at the Parkway's end. This diner is known as the West Taconic Diner. Coons's next diner was the Chief Martindale Diner located at the end of the next section of the Parkway to be completed, on Route 23. The next diner Coons opened was originally located not on the Parkway, but on the other side of the Hudson River in Catskill, opening in 1962. Five years later, however, this Fodero diner was moved to its current location on Rigor Hill Road adjacent to the Parkway. O's Eatery is highly visible and offers easy off-easy on access with a gasoline station across the street.